London (AFP) – England’s 1966 World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore was treated outrageously by the Football Association after he retired in 1978, claimed his former wife Tina.
Moore, who skippered England to the epic 4-2 World Cup final victory over the then West Germany at Wembley — the nation’s only major trophy — only had three low profile managerial jobs after he hung up his boots.
Tina, whose marriage with Moore produced two children but ended in divorce in 1986, said the FA could have done more for the English football legend, who died in 1993 aged just 51.
“He was deeply depressed,” she told weekly magazine The Radio Times.
“He was very proud, and felt rejected, bewildered. It was outrageous how the FA treated him, a scandal.
“It’s all very well that there are statues to him now, but that should have happened during his lifetime. Back then, he started to withdraw into himself.
“He always hated confrontation and would internalise a lot of things. I found to my cost that he would cut off. He could put up a wall and freeze people out. It all contributed to our break-up.”
The FA have accepted in the past that Moore, capped 108 times and captaining England on 90 occasions, was not treated with the respect he deserved.
“I am aware the Football Association has been criticised over its treatment of Bobby once he retired from football,” then FA chairman David Bernstein said in 2013.
“It saddens me that this is the case and while I am not privy to exactly what happened at the time, it is clear to me the organisation could have done more.”
